The Sun. — London, England, 1838-03-30 00:00:00

seriously detrimental to the negroes themselves, if their apprenticeship were suddenly terminated.—(Hear, hear.) The petitioners stated that the Colonial Legislatures had not rnado the necessary regulations which would be required by the new relations in which the masters and servants would be placed with regard to vagrancy, the elective franchise, the qualification of jurors, and more especially, the introduction of a sound system of currency. Mr. O'BRIEN rose to order. He objected to the Noble Lord making a long speech, and entering into such a •ariety of matters.—(Hear, hear.) Lord STANLEY contended that he had not exceeded the limits prescribed by the rules of the House. He was merely stating what the prayer of the petition was, and the Right Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer had stated that he would give an answer to their question relative to the introduction of a sound monetary system. Mr. GIL LON rose to order. Lord STANLEY having read the prayer of the petition relative to the introduction of a sound monetary system, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER stated that the question of introducing such a system was under the con sideration of the Government. The Right Hon. Gentleman then presented three petitions from Cambridge, and two pa rishes in Somerset. _ Lord HOWICK presented two petitions from the county of Northumberland to the same effect. _... Mr. GILLON_ obtained leave to bring in a Bill to regu late the granting of licenses in Scotland ; and another to regulate the sale of exciseable liquors. NEGRO APPRENTICESHIP. Sir G. STRICKLAND rose and said, Sir, in rising to propose a resolution, "That this House is of opinion that ap prenticeship in the British colonies, as established by the Act of Abolition, passed in the year 1833, shall cease and deter mine on the Ist of August in the present year," I hold it impossible that this all-important subject, resting alone upon 1 the immutable principles of humanity, mercy, and justice, can be d , sfigured by party.—( Hear, hear.) In 1833 that Act was passed which has been called the Imperial Act, the Act of Abolition, an Act which declared in emphatic terms that slavery should be for over abolished. So strong were the words of that Act of Parliament that I cannot refrain from quoting this short passage from it, " that, subject to thei obli gations imposed by this Act, all persons in slavery throughout the British colonies shall on the Ist of August, 1833, become, and be to all intents and purposes, free and discharged of and from all manner of slavery, and shall be absolutely and for ever manumitted, and that slavery shall be, and is hereby utterly and for ever abolished and declared unlawful throughout the British colonies and posses sions abroad." If this great promise had been realised, this was all that the friends of humanity and the enemies of slavery have ever asked or wished for.—(Loud cheers.) But it is, indeed, an extraordinary circumstance that an Act of this Legislature, hitherto considered all-powerful, should have been passed for five years, and at the end of that long er.od, when the people of the United Kingdom were flattering themselves with the fond expectation that the great work of justice and mercy was in progress, and that all those wretched p,-rsons, 800,800 of our fellow creatures, were passing through state of comparative happiness from darkness and oppression ..that, after this long time, information after information shoold be received from the colonies which has raised one universal feeling of pain and distress from a thorough con s ietion that the Imperial Act has not been carried into effect, but that it has been passed over, slurred, totally neglected.— b ( Hear, hear.) During the prcgress of that measure through the House. so anxious were some Ilenourablc Members of the Ilouse, so delicate were their feelings that no possibility of in jJeti,:e should be effected, that after a long and arduous dis sion it was at last determined that the enormous utni of twenty millions of money should be paid out of the pockets of tt,e British people to accomplish the great work. I firmly belie 'e, however just and necessary many Honourable Mem bers of this House thought it that this enormous grant should be *said, a grant which at this day is universally .1. hosed to have been douale the amount of a fair remunera tioo as a price for the slaves, however delicate and proper the l'oeliests of the House were, yet from experience and from onsosvation I am thoroughly convinced that the country at laree r did respond to the police of this measure, and that the greet majority of the people never approved of the grant being mad". I state confidently that the universal feeling on the subloet is, that, especially in a land of regulated liberty, personal treedom was one of the first of the rights of man, and that no price ought to have been paid for it, arid thet it ought never to be bought cr sold.—( Hear.) But it is too late now to discuss this part of the subject. I think, considering villa. has been stated, the House cannot be sur p, ised to hear that a Noble, Gallant, and celebrated Duke in another place declared that, four years after the establi,h ',lent of apprenticeship, be was ashamed that the Legislature , hauld be called upon for the protection of slaves. Upon n. iving for shortening the duration of the apprenticeship I L e ; that the consideratinn is essential that I have been con, sistenO• and that I have taken a prominent part in demanding t e ce e oso for the unhappy slaves. When the Bill was before the house' of Commons in 1833, Mr. Fol,vell Buxton, that man ‘: h ose a a sere ce from the House I deeply regret.—(Hear)— as being one ,of the best and tried friends of human nature wherever misery was to be found in any part of the world, that Hon. Gentlem'n moved an amendment that the system of apprenticeship, instead of being continued to 1840, should terminate in 1836—in fact, that it should only have two years continuance. On that occasion I am reported to have said that .‘ I have felt from the first how great an object it was to carry this measure with as much unanimity as possible, but if it really do come to a question whether I must vote for the .shorter or longer period, I shall feel obliged in consistency to e s to for the shorter period. Though for years the emancipa time of the slaves has been called for, the people have never expeoted that it was to be accompanied by remuneration to the planter. I aslmit that the arguments of the Hon. Mem ber for Leeds are ditNcult to be answered in favour of compen sation. But if it were not trespassing too long upon the at tention of the House at this time of night, I think I should be able to show that so large a sure as twenty millions ought not to be paid ; and as to the length of the apprenticeship, there cannot be a doubt that the voice of the people is in favour of the shortest possible period." It is my intention to deviate as little as possible from the exact question before the House. It is unnecessary for me to enter upon any remarks upon the great maxim laid down in the powerful language of Mr. Fox, and illustrated with no less eloquence by Mr. Canning, that there is no intermediate state between slavery and freedom, because there is no executory principle.—( Hear, hear, hear.) It is unnecessary for me to advert to such great aothorities, because I have that of the Noble Lord the Mem ber for Northumberland, whose opinions I for'one hold in the highest esteem. Upon the occasion I before mentioned that Noble Lord (Lord Howick) signalised himself by showing that the allurements of office wee a matter of no consideration to him in comparison with the preservation of his principles. He said, " My Right Hon. Friend (alluding to the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire, then Mr. Stanley, and Se tretary for the Colonies), has said that he proposes to place the negroes almost in a state of freedom—to give them (1 taink was his expression) all the essentials of freedom. Could I be persuaded that such would be the effect of the measure he has recommended, I should be spared the pain of opposing it. But the House must not allow itself to be imposed upon by words. Slavery does not consist in a name. Sir, I be lieve it is a truth universally recognised, that men can only be taught industry by having the fruits of their industry se cured to them—by being made to know that, if they will con .sent to labour, the reward of their toil shall not be taken from I hem by another. I believe the plan of apprenticeship will be as injurious to the planters as to the slaves. I know, Sir, that we cannot trust the Colonial Assemblies to legislate. What ever might be the nominal effect of the laws they might pass, in reality they would amount to nothing less than the maintenance of slavery. There is no intermediate state between freedom and slavery." In another place the same Noble Lord had said— " I did not vote for the grant of 20,000,000 L, for this simple reason, that I wished that Parliament, before it was pledged to give the money, should have a more definite knowledge of the consideration to be received. I contend that 20,000,0001. is ample compensation for immediate freedom, and if part of that freedom be withheld, what is more fair than that we .should withhold part of the 20,000,000/. ?" I think the Noble Lord is deserving of the highest praise, not for preaching upon things after they have happened, but in anticipating what has taken place. Notwithstanding this admirable discussion the plan was pet-severed in. There seemed to be some power overwhelming the Colonial Office, and they persevered in their plan in spite of every warning that was given to them. But though the plan was persevered in, some hopes were held that there might be some mistake, and in brilliant language promises were made to the nation that slavery should be abolished. The Noble Lord the Member for North Lanca shire, then Secretary for the Colonies, in answer to a question put to him by the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tam eaorth, expressed himself in these memorable words—" I do naot mean that the apprentices shall not be liable to punish ment. I mean that their condition shall be precisely that of - wyorkmen in England." Now, the inquiry to which I humbly beg the attention of the House is simply in these words —has that promise been fulfilled ? Are the apprentices in the colonies , precisely in the state of workmen in England? These were not the only memorable expressions made use of on that occasion. At that time an Hon. Member of this House (Mr. Patric:: Stewart), who was considered the very mouth-piece of the Colonial interest, addressed the House, and received high praise' for the talent and the moderation with which he spoke. What did Mr. Stewart say ? He said this : " The bargain entered into was this—that within a limited period, on consideration of t.lee ee-operation of the Colonial authorities, such a sum should be paid." He said likewise, " I am perfectly satisfied that the Colonial Legislatures will fulfil their part of the contract, and pass such measures .as will facilitate the completion of the object the British Pal-liar:sent has in view." He said, moreover, " I quite agree with Hoo• e'dembers who say that any opposition on the part of the Colonies, such as that contemplated, would be an infrac- Selo of the understanding which was come to." I am now approaching what I consider the far most painful part 4)f my task, for lam going to inquire into and produce some facts, as few painful facts as possible, in order to point out whether or not there has been, in the words of Mr. Stew art, any infraction of the understading then come to. On this point I will just state The opinions of a very high authority. I e. ill take one, that pithy passage from the message of Sir Lionel Smith to the Assembly of Jamaica, dated the 31st of October, 1837. He said there, " This island is subject to the rs proaeh that the negroes are in some respects now in a worse condition than they were in slavery." lux, is this the condi. lion of British labourers ( Hear, hear.) Is this an infrac tkn of the unde i s t an di n ;ome to ?—( Hear.) I have said i r t e e a dytii details.t, as i fa k r n as ow pos 6 sible, I will avoid entering into mi such statements are distasteful to the house, and therefore I will rather narrow the grounds of iny Inquiry, by stating the infractions of the understanding, rather .than go into minute specifications of the amount of them. In first place, ix there ot an infraction fully made ma 4 to -r the regulations of the time of the apprentices One of the means by which these unhappy people have to maintain them selves is by cultivating small plots of ground for their support. Any enactment or regulation, therefore, which would effec• tually prevent them from having an opportunity of cultivating those small spots would be a most important infraction of the understanding.—(Loud cries of Hear, hear.) Then, as to food, I believe that throughout all the colonies, as far as the evidence on the subject goes, the effect of it is to show that the allowance of food to the apprentice is little more than half of that he received in slavery. I ask, is this carrying out the intentions of the Imperial Act, which says that no regula tions shall be made which shall in any respect place the apprentice in a worse condition than when he was a slave ? By the returns which have been made on this subject I find that, whereas fourteen pints of Indiaa corn and twenty-one of flour used to be given to the slaves, it was reduced to ten pints of Indian corn and eight of flour to the apprentice. —( Hear, hear, hear.) Then as to the treatment of, and indulgence to, aged persons and pregnant women, and those with a child to nurse, the accounts on these subjects are most distressing. Old persons, who were virtually relieved from labour till the apprenticeship system commenced, are now forced into the field. There is one part of this question which I believe has throughout this country, and most de servedly; made a deep impression against the system of slavery : I mean the continuance of the horrid practice of flogging women.—(Hear.) I will read a passage on this subject from the all-powerful Imperial Act. That Act states " That it shall not be lawful for any Governor, Council, and Assembly, or other Colonial Legislature, to authorise any Court, Judge, or Justice of the Peace to punish any appren ticed labourer, being a female, for any offence, by whipping or beating her person." I will, 'first of all, draw the atten tion of the House to a narrative which has been widely circu lated in this country, and which was written by James Wil iams, a young man who was formerly a slave, and who is now twenty-two years of age. This narrative, though from so humble an individual, has, from the circumstances connected with it, become a matter of great importance and interest. I will'not read any extract from this painful narrative, but I will state generally the effect of the narrative. It stated that when he was a slave he was comparatively mercifully treated ; he was seldom beaten, and then very lightly ; but from the mo ment he became an apprentice his master declared that he r would so work him and flog him till the end of his appren ticeship, in 1840, that he should then be of no value to him self or to any person.—(Cries of " Oh, oh !") He stated that he was flogged repeatedly for no intelligible offence, and that, before his wounds were healed, he was flogged again P and again. He was immured in a dungeon—he was com mitted to the treadmill—and, what was the most im portant part of the narrative, in the treadmill he wit nessed scenes of horror which were disgraceful to human nature. The narrative states that the treadmill and the house of correction are placed beyond the power of the Stipendiary Magistrates, and are in possession of and under the power of the slave owners themselves. It states that the writer there saw wretched women who were too weak and feeble to work at the treadmill, hung up to a pole above it, and in that state flogged in the most merciless manner. The writer recounted, likewise, an account of a poor old woman with grey hairs who was so mercilessly flogged that after vomiting blood she died. --(Oh, oh. ) I will pass over this narrative. I feel that in such accounts as th see, coming from this quarter, it may be naturally infe:red that the whole is a fabrication, and that there is not a word of truth in it. In order to set this question at rest the Colonial-ofEce appointed a Commission to inquire into the truth of the narrative, and what was the result ? Mr. Gordon and Mr. Doughty, the two gentlemen appointed to re port upon the narrative, drew up a Report, of which I will read a part. They give the whole of the evidence, but the Report itself is very short. They state—" In reporting upon the re sults of this extended inquiry, it has become the duty of the Commissioners to state, th it the allegations of James Williams' narrative have received few inconsiderable contradictions, whilst every material fact has been supported and corrobo rated by an almost unbroken chain of convincing testimony ; that the abolition has not been properly administered in some parts of the parish of St. Ana ; that the House of Cor rection was, until lately, a place of licentiousness and cruelty ; and that the treadmill has been, and still is, an instrument rather of torture than of just and salutary punishment." I know that notwithstanding the forcible arguments which 1 have read this evening from the speech of the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire to prove what should be the condition of the blacks under the Emancipation Act, it has been stated in many of the public journals, and whispered amongst various parties, " Ay, it is true that in Jamaica there have been abuses ; in that island the planters have be haved ill (for that is the lenient expression used) ; but it is a hard case that all the other colonies should be punished on ac count of the operation of the law there." I have had little time, as I said. for the investigad r on of this subject ; but on cursorily looking over the information I could procure, I have found ample proof to justify me in stating, that whatever horrors have taker, place in Jamaica are to be found everywhere, for they form a necessary ingredient in slavery. I will not go into the returns, which show that in all the slave colonies hundreds of thousands of lashes have been inflicted on those wretched apprentices, for what are called apprenticed offences—such as not doing their work in a proper manner, or even looking with disrespect towards their masters. These returns of hun dreds of thousands of lashes, are convincing proofs that this system works very curiously indeed, if these apprentices are really to be looked upon in the situation of British labourers. But I will take only one account, which I have extracted, of the manner in which the provisions of the Act relating to ap prentices have been observed in many other colonies— " The Abolition Act requires that good and ample provi sion' shall he made for the apprentices by their employers. But it appears that in Tortola the allowance of farinacious food is less than one half the prison allowance of Jamaica under the slave law in corn, and one fifth in flour. In Nevis, St. Cristopher's, and Dominica, it is little more than one half in either corn or flour. In Barbadoes it is little more than two-thirds of corn. From such cause in British Guiana, a Crown colony, the apprentices are said to be in a state approaching to starvation." But I have no doubt it will be said that the horrible account given in the narrative of Williams, of the treadmill in Ja maica, does not apply to the other colonies. I shall there fore be obliged to read to the House the testimony of Mr. Sturges to what he saw in Bridgetown, the capital of Bar badoes :—" On the top of the treadmill were a number of negroes, to secure the arms of those who were too weak to hold on by the rails. The women were on it. The brutal i driver was flogging them with as much severity as he had previously flogged the men. Ho cut them wherever he listed, and as often as he pleased. We were dreadfully shocked. On the mill was a mulatto woman extremely ex hausted. The driver flogged her repeatedly, and as she often made the attempt to tread the mill ; but nature was worn out ; she was literally suspended by the bend of the elbow of one arm, a negro holding down the wrist, and her poor legs knocking against the revolving steps of the mill till the blood marked them. She hung groaning. When the negro released her arm she fell on the floor." I think the case I have quoted sufficient. There is also an account given of the treatment of a poor black girl, about eighteen years of age, which was no less severe than that which I have read. Now, I ask you, has there been no infraction of the understanding which was come to ? Are the apprentices in the state of British labourers ? Has the imperial law been disregarded or not ?—( Hear, hear.) If there were any doubt of the evidence which I have now adduced, I have yet the means of establishing it in the most triumphant manner by the words of Lord Glenelg himself. And, before Igo farther. I beg to say that I do not join in the unjust reproaches brought forward against that amiable and accomplished nobleman._ (Cries of " Hear, hear.") I think, on the contrary, tint the country is indebted to him for doing all that one in his situa ' tion could do—for having spoken out boldly and firmly, and not tried to slur over abuses.—(Hear.) That Noble Lord has spoken in a way which must affbrd some excuse for the con duct of those erring individuals like myself who have brought this subject under public notice. Lord Glenelg said, " The complaints respecting the state of other colonies are not so nu merous or considerable as those respecting Jamaica. I must allow, with respect to the latter colony, that many evils exist which might be made the grounds for claiming (what ?) the abolition of the apprenticeship system." Mr. GL ADSTO NE—From what is the Honourable Ba ronet quoting? Sir G. ST RICKL AND—I have no doubt the words I am quoting are to be found in " Hansard's Debates ;" but I take them from the Morning Chronicle of the 21st February, 1838, and I have no doubt they are correctly given. The Honourable Baronet was proceeding to read some other extracts from Lord Glenelg's speeech when he was inter rupted by The SPEAKER, who said that the Honourable Baronet was out of order in making quotations from the source which he had mentioned. Sir G. STRICKLAND resumed—Well, I merely wished to refer to those statements for the purpose of showing that, after repeated and earnest solicitations, the local Assemblies could not be induced to make those regulations which were just. The Noble Lord also admitted that scenes still occurred which were horrible and revolting, and entirely confirmed the narrative of James Williams. He moreover confessed that, in spite of the law, females were flogged in a manner which reflected disgrace on the Legislature.--( Hear, hear.) But I understand that the Bill brought forward by the Noble Lord is to be moved this evening as an amendment to my motion. I feel bound, therefore, to allude by anticipation to that measure. In the first place, I take it to he a full admission of the grievances of the slaves. What else does it mean? I will not quote authorities to sustain wh a t I say, because such a course seems to be displeasing ; but, if I were to do so, I could prove that this Bill has been intro duced to protect the apprentices from the effects of a con spiracy carried on against them. It is to afford protection to magistrates, or rather to make another enactment to prevent the flogging of females. Why, Sir, if it were pos:ible to pass fifty laws, one after another,' is it likely that words could be found prohibiting more strenuously and clearly the evils which are now intended to be put do wn than those contained i.e the Imperial Act ? This is legislating, as it were, on legislati on i n . a manner w hi c h I was going to say might be called impotena, but which, I am quite certain, can produce no possible good. _(Hear, hear.) But there is another point of view in which this Bill is to be considered It is to enable the Governor, in case the apprentices are used cruelly, to give them immediate freedom. Why, then, when I hear of my motion being an infraction of the contract, am I not entitled to say that these en larged powers to be given un d er t h e Bill to magistrates are equally deserving of being c h aracterized as an infraction of that contract,' which I deny was ever entered into, at least in the sense in which it is now interpreted ? I remember the debates which then took place, in which the Secretary fur the Colonies explained the object of the measure with the greatest eloquence and perspicuity, and maintained that the apprent i ces hi p s y s t em was agreed to, not for the benefit THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 1838. of the planter, but that of the slaves. After the recital which I have given I ask how far that character has been sustained 1 In addition to the opinions of other statesmen whom I have quoted, there is that of Mr. Burke to show that there is no intermediate place, no transitory state, be tween slavery and freedom. The more you legislate on this subject the more mischief you will do unless you confer on the negroes immediate freedom. It is far better to lay aside legislation altogether than to resort to this kind of interference, which only tends to irritate the planters to the exercise of their overwhelming power over the slaves.—( Hear, hear.) I will now endeavour to show that from giving the apprentices unconditional freedom on the Ist of August in the present year no danger is to be appre hended. But in the first place I shall make a few remarks on that strange species of legislation which consists in say ing that the non-predial slaves shall be released in this year, but that the predial slaves shall be retained in servitude for two years longer. Was there ever a piece of legislation which gave greater promise of dissatisfaction, irritation, and discontent ?—( Hear, hear.) Is it in human nature that one portion of these negroes should look on contentedly while their brethren were released from darkness and bondage to the light of day and freedom, though they continued two years longer in a state of slavery ? But I revert to what I alluded in the previous part of my observations. I wish to point your attention to the great experiment which was made in Antigua and Bermuda. There we see 45,000 ne groes at once set free without any intermediate state of ap prenticeship, working industriously, increasing prosperity, raising the value of land, and working for wages in a man ner equally industrious as the labourer of any other country. But there is this strong feature in the case of Antigua, that whereas, for thirty years before the proprietors of slaves, to their eternal honour, gave immediate freedom, martial law had every year before the Christmas festival to be proclaimed, upon the emancipation taking place the whole colony was peace order, and subordination.--( Hear, hear.) If anything were wanted to show that this people are fit for the adoption of freedom, I would refer to the evidence of Admiral Fleming, who throughly understood this subject, and who always main tained that there was no danger in immediate emancipation. I wou'd next refer to the beautiful account given by the Mar quis of Sligo of the manner in which the negroes cele brated the Ist of August, 1834, which they considered as leading to their happiness, freedom, and all the blessings of liberty.—( Hear, hear.) It is an extract from the Marquis of Sligo's Report, and is as follows:—" The Ist of August was devoted in many parts of the island to devotional exer cises. In the sectarian chapels the service was performed several times in the course of the day ; in fact, as often as a fresh succession of auditors presented themselves. It has been generally remarked, that hardly a drunken man Ives to be seen in the streets on that day ; the Saturday was divided between business and pleasure ; they were fully aware that the next Sunday's market would be abolished. At night in some of the towns there were fancy balls, in which the authorities of the island, past and present, were represented. On Sunday the places of worship were again unusually crowded, and the day passed over in the most or derly and quiet manner. My reports from all parts of the island, except St. Ann's alone, state that on Monday the apprentices turned out to their work with even more than usual readiness, in some places with alacrity, and all with good humour." But it has been said that these wretched blacks can never be roused from a state of indolence. Hear what the Archdeacon of Barbadoes says on this point :-- Strange that it should be said that the free blacks are predisposed to idleness, when they have driven the free whites from some occupations in our own island of Barba does ; for instance, as carpenters and masons. The lower class of the white population are in the greatest destitution and diatrese. The number of white persons receiving relief is far greater than the number of persons of colour in the same situation. Indeed, the poor blacks contribute towards the elief of the poor whites, while the poor blacks maintain entirely those of their own colour who are poor." Now, looking at the present aspect of affairs, I beg to ask the mast strenuaus supporter Of apprenticeship, or slav e ry, or whatever it may be called, whether there is not now sonic danger in attempting to continue this irritating distinction between non-prmdial arid prasdial slaves? Let me, h o wever, for one moment, ask what the French are now doing ? They likewise have colonies in the West Indies. Shall England, after all her boasted generosity in giving twenty millions for establishing perfect freedom, allow France to take precedence in the work of emancipation ? What lam nom going to quote is a petition which has been presented from the prcprietors of slaves in Martinique to the French Government at home : ‘‘ We learn with the profoundest interest that the Government is determined to put an end to slavery, because it is cantrary to the fundamental principles of all society, and useful neither to the master nor to the slave. When there shall be no more slaves it will no longer be necessary to transport a great mili tary force at an enormous expense. The emancipated slaves, having become soldiers and citizens, will be interested in maintaining the public order, and in defending the soil which gave them birth." These are the sentiments held by the planters of Martinique. I know I have trespassed long on the time of the House. I regret having done so, for I feel that I have very imperfectly performed the task imposed on me. I cannot help reflecting that I fill the same situalion, that I follow, at however immeasurable a distance, the footsteps of that good, that eloquent, that enlightened, that humane and religious man, Mr. Wilberforce. And after age and infirmity obliged him to retire from that ;laborious situation, the county of York called to its representation that individual who, by his varied and splendid talents, by his great services in this cause, has distinguished himself above all other men, Mr. Wilberfurce, perhaps, alone excepted. Again, when he was raised to a high situation in the service of his country the hum ble individual who now addresses you was invited to fill that post, for no reason that I know of excepting that I have, on some occasions, expressed my unalterable hatred to slavery aid oppression, whet-ale r they are t be ft und.—(Cheers.) now conclude by expressing a hope that as lon g as life and energy may be spared to me I shall be found to devote them to the abolition of the horrors of slavery, uncler whatever name it may be disguised or by whatever nation it may b e upheld.---( Cheers.) I move, " That this House is of opi nion that the apprenticeship established in the British colo nies by the 3d and 4th William IV. shall determine on the 1:t of August, 1838." Mr. PEASE, in seconding tire motion, assured the House that it was with the greatest diffidence he rose o n this oFes. sion, being fully aware of the vast importance of . the . subject, and of the great, he might say awful, responsibility which attached to those who were about so make the gret . tt change which it was the object of this motion to accomplish. Not only did he now feel the onerous duty imposed on hen, but he had a full sense of the difficulty when be was first applied to for tests of his conduct. At a meeting of his constituents in the course of the past year, when their feelings and views were expressed in language not to be misunderstood, he stated un equivocally and honestly that he had the most serious doubts as to the policy pointed out ; and also how far he could in hi s situation as representative stand up and propose a modification or abolition of an Act passed only a few years. He trusted to the indulgence of the House whilst he endeavoured to state feebly, but as well as he could, the grounds on which he came to the conclusion that he could act that part from an honest wish t o vindicate the national ch ar a c t e r, and from a Christian desire that the country to which he belonged should be no longer stigmatized with a system which reflected dishonour on the empire.—( Hear, hear.) Now he must in the first place dis claim the slightest degree of hostility to those who conducted the affairs of this v as t empire, as well as any participation i n the language which was held elsewhere, partly in his presence, but more partieularly in his absence. He felt bound, too, to 1 express his regret that the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire was not present, as he should have to make some reflections on his conduct, to which, though not impugnin g either his head or heart, he should wish to give him an oppor tunity of replying. After having waded through this large volume of evidence with all the industry which he could, he concessed be found himself in great difficulty, from the want of those particulars being given which would enable him to come to a conclusive judgment. The Act o f Abolition hav ing proposed to give such extensive powers as would satisfy . the people of England that all the views which they entertained with so much fervency and honesty would be fully met, the course taken by the Government was such as left no doubt that the final consummation of their efforts would be such as every Member of the House wished it to be. But to his surprise, ho found by a.O Order in Council, providing for sundry and gall ing defici enciee of the Legislature of Jamaica, the three great elem ents which bore so large a proportion in the com fort and ha,opiness of the negro, namely, clothing, food, and medicine, were left untouched. This was pointed out by Mr. Secretary ;3tanley in his first dispatch. The same objection was made t vith respect to Guiana, where it was obvious that the regulati ons were not such as justified the grant. In this colony the s laves had a right to a certain allowance of food, in accordance t!ith an Order in Council passed when Mr. Can ning was Pr'exneMinister, with respect to all C r o w n colonies. The und erst ending was that that Ord er i n C ounc il should be carried . into t effect. Sir Benjami n d'Urban stated that he hai l an intunatio, a that it was the intention of the inhabitants of this colony to cast off their allegian ce ; an d the consequence w as, that a discretion was allowed him of making such modifications as to the time of receiving and species of their food as be might think fit. Th e mo difi ca ti o ns thus intrusted to his discretion took place ; and from that period he .(Mr. poise ) dated some of th e greatest calamities w hich and also a certain allowance of fi s h. In lieu of afflictedth c olony. The weekly am ount o f f oo d had been twenty-one r pints each of wheaten meal or mea l from the Indian corn, the farinacio us foo d it was determined that th e y s hould get seventy-five slantains, of which one-thi r d was e dibl e f o od. In consequence of this change the twenty-one pin reduced to ter g and the fish also dimi n i s h e d one -h a lf. In 1834, it wee t rue, that directing g r Jamesthat the Carmichaelapprenticestssm of meal uitshbodidl were disgruec a proelamastio ceive twenty.° no pints of Indian corn a w ee k : b ut t w o days after its publi'e'• a ti n on, having been waited up on b y a num ber of the planters ,f Guiana, who represented that there was not thee in the c otony a sufficient supply of corn to warrant the issue of this i aereased allowance, he consented to suspend it for a period of six months, but at the expiration of that time it was not renewed. The result of th e l ow di e t the ap prentices rec *shred, coupled with the increased quantity of labour exact ed by the planters, was to be found in the in creased mor sstlity of the colony. He should now proceed to give the He use some details with respect to the punishment intieted up on the apprentices in the colony of Guiana. With respec tto the number and nature of the compensation claims from die colony he was unable to furnish the House with informs "-,ion,, because, in many instances, the planters had had the hardi. Nod to present claims for the bastard children they bad by tb eir own concubines (in one instance, a planter laid' claim for e o fewer than twenty-one ofhis natural children), and these clais ns being disputed, the correct list could not as yet be aseertai ned. But with regard to the nature and amount . of punishment inflicted in the colony, he was in possession of ample details, It appeared that within the year commencing the 31st of July, 1834, and ending the 31st of July, 1835, 8,152 apprentices had received punishment, 2,1 71 by flogging with the cat, and 5,981 by mulcts of time, or other manor punishments. From this period he found that the average ' progressively increased ; and though from time to time h . e found the Governor representing the colony as most tranquil , prosperous, and happy, the documents showed, up to the last period to which they had been made out, an increase of one eighth on the average, over the worst period before the passing of the Act. He had next to refer the House to some abstracts of the official records of the colony of Demerara on the subject of punishment. It appeared that upon 736 apprentices out of 3,200, the number on 17 estates in that province, there had been inflict ed within the period of eight months after the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act, 7,154 stripes of the cat, of imprison ment 58 weeks, of hard labour on the estates 525 weeks, of tread-mill punishment 464 weeks, of confinement by night after labour by day 335 weeks, and of solitary confinement 134 weeks. But the point which he found most difficult to account for, was the great increase of produce since 1834, not withstanding the decrease of population. This, he thought, strongly called for some explanation. As regarded female slaves, it was notorious they now suffered much more than they had done before 1834. Before the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act, every woman who had borne six children was freed altogether from labour in the field, and before an d after each confinement was allowed respite from work during two or three months. This had wholly ceased since the passing of the Act. The mothers of six children, pregnant women, the aged and infirm, all had to work the full period ; and even though in many instances they had to walk six miles to the place of their employment, no allowance was made for the time so consumed, the planter requiring them to give the full period allowed by the Act at actual work. A case had been detailed to him of a female apprentice named Susan, the wife of the head man on an estate in the colony of Demerara. T . his woman was approaching her period of confinement, and in vain ap plied for permission to absent herself from work. The result . was, she was actually taken with the pains of labour the field ; and on being sent to the sick house gave birth to a child, only attended by an old deaf woman, and a young girl who was confined there with sores in her legs, and without having any of the requisites for a person in her situation. The day but one after she was obliged to return to her work. Under the old slavery system there was no instance to be adduced of similar cruelty. But he must say a word respecting the sick-houses to which he had alluded. In Demerara the sick-house was considered a place of punish ment. Every one going into it was suspected of feigning ill ness, and in consequence were what is called tested. The commonest medicines employed for this purpose were tartar emetic, assafeetida, and lamp-oil. The inmates were inva riably locked up, and only allowed to go through the door to be examined by the medical attendant. They had no com fort, and the want of ventilation and other conveniences made a visit to it perfectly disgusting. Surely this was not what the people of England anticipated. He had next to call the attention of the House to the system of passes granted to the apprentices to go off the estate to which they belonged. Without one of these passes no negro could on any account leave the property on which he worked. And he would proceed to show how inconsistent these documents were with the system the people of England had hoped to establish through the medium of the Abolition Act.—[The Hon. Mem ber here read to the House several of these passes.] In one instance, it was a man wan ti ng t o a tt en d the funeral of his own child in another, to permit a couple to get married. Surely all this was illegal ; and yet, if they were not absolutely ne cessary they would not have been demanded. He held in his hand another document, written by a slave owner to a clergy man, requesting him not to marry two apprentices, on the ground that the man had not obtained his permission to be married, adding, that if the couple were united, he would take effectual means to prevent their ever meeting. With respect to any danger to be apprehended from immediate casancipation, from all that he had read and heard on the subject, he did not believe that such a step would be at tended with the slightest risk. In fact, the negroes had already been emancipated in some of the estates of Jamaica. Those on a large plantation belonging to the Marquis of Sligo had been made free by that Noble Lord at a moment's notice, without the presence of any ;magistrates, constables, or police, and not the slightest inconvenience had ensued. It had been said by an individual who had a written a book on the subject, that if the negroes were emancipated they were so illy disposed that they would refuse to labour ; but in ano ther part of his work the writer confuted this statement, by observing that in Guiana and Trinidad they had been corn polled to enforce a law preventing the negroes from hiring themselves .out to labour on the Sabbath-day. In whatever 'may he considered the subject, whether he regarded it as a [}natter of mere expediency, or as a matter of justice, whether he looked at it with reference to the interests of the planter, or with reference to the interests of the negro, he was persuaded that there was nothing to fear, and that there was everything to hope from the immediate abolition of the existing system. The Hon. Member proceeded to read a number of letters and other documents in support of this opinion. The first was from a Member of the House of Assembly in Jamaica, who declared that he was so far from being opposed to the termi nation of the system of apprenticeship in August, 1834, that be highly approved of it ; and that he thought the resolution passed by the House of Assembly, not to listen to any propo sition for an abridgment of the term, exceedingly disgraceful. Another letter stated that if the writer were to liberate the negroes which he possessed, Jamaica would soon be made by the planters too hot for him and his family. Another owner of negroes expressed his decidod opinion that he was at pre sent at a much greater expense than he should be if the sys tem of apprenticeship were abolished. A Baptist Missionary at Jamaica, in a letter to a friend, observed that the prevailing opinion there was that in the event of protracting the appren ticeship to the term originally fixed—August, 1838—" death or liberty" would be the motto of the slaves ; an opinion in which the writer coincided. Another missionary said that a great deal of agitation existed on the subject; and that all the efforts of the missionaries to tranquillize the negroes would be in vain, unless measures were taken in England for that purpose ; and added, that he and his friends needed his correspondent's sympathy and prayers. The Hon. Member proceeded to read the petition which he had presented to the House a few weeks ago, signed by the Baptist mis sionaries in all the larger districts of the island of Jamaica, and which, if there had been time, would have been signed by all the Baptist missionaries in the island. He begged to call the attention of the House to the character of these in dividuals, who had left every worldly advantage to perform what they felt to be a sacred duty, who preached to hundreds and thousands of the negroes, who were intimately ac quainted with the character, habits, and feelings, of the negroes, and who in their petition represented the great advantages which would result from terminating the ap prenticeship system in August next. He was perfectly pre pared- for an attack on immediate emancipation upon the ground of broken faith and broken contract. Ho denied the fact; and argued that from the very terms of the Act of 1833, such an attack had no foundation. The Honourable Gentleman was beginning to contend that pecuniary policy, that commercial policy, that the advantage of the planter, that the advantage of the apprentice, that the cause of justice, that the interest of humanity, all combined to recommend the im mediate abolition, but suddenly became so overpowered by his feelings that he was unable to proceed.—(Loud cheers re sounded from all sides.) " The House will pardon me," con cluded Mr. Pease, " for having so long trespassed upon their attention. lam unable to go on. But when that great and solemn day shall come--when I shall myself stand in need of mercy—l hope it will be meted to me in the same measure as I am disposed to mete it to others."—( Hear. ) Sir G. GREY said the grounds on which he should resist the motion were short and simple. There had been a solemn compact and engagement made in 1832, with a full understand ing of all the attendant circumstances and consequences; and, as one of the parties, they had no right to violate its provisi▪ ons. He was astonished to hear that that compact was denied in ano ther place, by a Member of the very Government who made it —( Cheersl—establishing four years for the apprenticeship • of prmelial labourers and six years in the case of non-prmelials. The Noble Lord opposite introduced twelve years for the term of apprenticeship in the first instance ; but upon subse quent discussion (in the debate upon the " instruction" brought forward by Mr. Buxton) the period of four years and six years respectively were established instead. (Here the Right Hon. Baronet rapidly referred to extracts from the speeches of Lord Stanley, Lord Althorp, Mr. Buxton, and himself, confirmatory of the understanding upon which the altered terms were adopted, in connection with the increased grant of twenty millions to the plant ers.) He could not conceive how any Honourable Member could now come forward and demand the abolition of the re maing two years of that arrangement. They had already strong remonstrances from the West India planters, complain ing of the breach of compact committed by the alteration of the twelve years term to four and six years. It was declared on the other hand, that the concession of the 20,000,0001. was a piece of wanton, and needless extra vagance. It was a narrow policy to assert that we were bound to leave the planters under all the disadvantages and losses which . they laboured pr ev i ous t o t h e p ass i ng o f t h e Ab o lition Act while the law of slavery was i n f orce . Wh en h e saw that the twenty millions were finding their way from this country to the colonies, paying off incumbrances, providing the means ofimprovement on estates which lay unproductive for the want of them, or conveying new agricultural implements for the relief and supercession of manual labour on estates where the negroes had hitherto been overworked—when he found our West India export s i ncrease d an d t h e i r expor t s pro portionably diminished—all evincing an appropriation of wealth, and comfort, and means of improvement in those colonies hitherto unprecedented, he could not hesitate to credit the concurrent testimony of the reports laid on that table, and to believe the fact that the Abolition Act had worked real good to all parties in our West Indian posses sions-7( Hear, hear)—and th a t th e p opu l at i on o f t h o se islands had risen within the last four years by the expenditure of the planters to a high degree of comfort and improvement— ( Hear, hear.) He objected to the statements brought for ward in support of the arguments that the compact had been broken by the planters—stating facts as they did singly, and without their proper context ; w i t h out t h e f avoura ble instances which might serve to balance them, and without any allusion either to the present or p ros p ect i ve advantages resulting, or likely to result, from the a b o li t i on o f s l avery. —( Loud cheers. ) The planters had lent their aid to carry out the law with good faith, and ought to have the benefit of their exertions. Here the Right Hon. Baronet referred to the correspondence of Lord Sligo with Lord Glenolg, descriptive of the conduct of the planters in Jamaica, stating that humanity was the rule and cruelty the exception, and asking for greater powers from home to check abuses. He also quoted the opinion of Elias Smith, which deserved particular attention. That gentleman said that the strong statements which had found their way from this country to Barbadoes had done more than anything else to postpone the beneficial operation of the apprenticeship system, for the planters had now got the idea into their beads that the advocates of the immediate abolition of apprentice ship would, by the excitement they raised, compel the Mem bers of Parliament to free the negroes instanter, and as the British Legislature were pre-eminently just and considerate, they would certainly afford the planters greater compensa tion that before. So they still waited, and threw all the diffi culties they could in the way of the liberation of the negroes in the expectation that delay would produce them a higher premium.—(Cheers.) The Right Hon. Baronet then read extracts from the evidence of Messrs. Dallray, Lyall, Higgins, and Edward Baines, testifying to the general improvement apparent in the cultivation of estates and among the negroes and their children since the introduction of the new system. Some of the subordinate planters, it was true, still wished to adhere to the old system, but they were very few in number and still less in consideration. It appeared by the report of Mr. Grant that the best feeling existed between the appren tices and their employers. He would only ask Hon. Gentle men to read those reports, and place them in juxta position with the statements that had been made at public meetings end elsewhere in this country on the subject.—( Cheers.) These reports would show that in 999 cases out of 1,000, as the law was at present administered, oppression was pre vented, and the negro was protected in earning his own wages and in the enjoyment of his own home with his family. —( Cheers.) It was true the improvement in the condition of the negroes was progressive, but would it not be folly to expect that an Act of Parliament would remedy all the evils of the slave system at once? The improvement was general, although it was gradual, and surely this was as much as could be hoped for in the time.—( Cheers.) There was no doubt if the apprenticeship system were allowed to expire it would gradually glide into the free-labour system without any dan ger to property, which would prove a guarantee of the future rights and liberties of all classes.—(Cheers.) A memorial had yesterday been for the first time brought under the con sideration of the Government from a numerous and most respectable body of persons, praying that the system of ap prenticeship might be put an end to, and stating that with few exceptions the objects of the Slave Abolition Bill had been defeated by the planters and the local Governments. Now let this statement be contrasted with the reports of Mr. Baines and the other magistrates in the colonies, and he would ask any Hon. Member of that House if lie could find any grounds after reading both for the excitement that had been got up on this subject ?—( Cheers.) It was clear, however good the intentions of the memorialists were, that they made their statements on a partial knowledge only of the facts of the case. The whole of the cry that had been raised was got up by certain persons who were known to have been opposed to the apprenticeship system from the begin ning, and was nothing short of a fraud practised on the pub lic meetings that had been called for the purpose of excite ment. Now, with respect to crime, he would allude to one passage in a report signed by three Magistrates, one of whom was a gentleman of colour, who had been appointed by the Marquis of Sligo. That passage alluded to the crime of rape. Now it had been represented that this crime had increased since the Slave Abolition Bill passed in 1834 ; but the Report of these three Magistrates clearly showed that the crime had not increased, but that when the offence was now committed it was made publicly known by the injured party applying for the protection of the law, which never was the case before the Act passed. Indeed before that time there was no law to punish the offender. It was not very likely that a crime of that nature had not been more prevalent at a time when there was not only no protection against it, but when the slaves themselves were in a much worse state of morals than at present. Why, he would ask, had not those persons who professed to have a knowledge of all the abuses which they now complained of as having been practised in the Colonies—why had they not brought those charges before the Executive Governments in the Colonies and had the parties punished, instead of bringing them for ward in this country for the purpose of excitement ? With respect to the treadmill having been used as an instrument of torture, it had undoubtedly been so used ; but the use of it had been put a stop to by crder of the Government.—( Cheers.) The Hon. Baronet did not seem to perceive that there was a great difference between the present Bill and the original Abolition Bill. The present Bill says that no female appren tice shall upon any account whatever be subjected to corporal punishment, or if so punished she shall immediately be declared free —( Cheers.) W ith respect to British Guiana, he believed no man could be more anxious than Sir L. Smith, the Gover nor, was, ,to carry out the objects of the Abolition Bill, and he did not think him at all liable to the censure that had been endeavoured to be cast upon him. As to the quantity of punish ment inflicted in that Colony, where the number of appren tices was 1,700, it had been clearly shown that every species of punishment had greatly diminished, and, in fact, that flogging had altogether ceased there. —( Cheers. ) In short, it appeared that the Act had been carried out with the utmost good faith and zeal in that colony. He did not know where the Hon. Baronet got his information as to the condition of the free children in that colony. He only knew that no such information had ever reached the Government. On the con trary, all the reports showed that the children were allowed maternal assistance, food, nurses, and everything they re quired, as perfectly as when in a state of slavery. He spoke thus of the condition of British Guiana, against the Govern ment of which the charges were made ; but he was free to con fess that in other colonies the condition of the children was not reported to be so good. With respect to Sunday markets Lord Glenelg had been censured for succumbing to the de cision of the Governor, who, in opposition to the recommenda tion of Lord Glenelg in his despatch, issued an ordinance establishing Sunday markets until nine o'clock. Now the fact was that the Governor did in the first instance issue an ordinance in favour of Sunday markets ; but on the second despatch of Lord Glenelg, recommending the abolition of Sunday markets, a second ordinance to that effect was issued by the Governor.—( Hear.) In the island of Granada a complaint was alleged that the Chief Justice there had imprisoned his own clerk for not carrying into effect his in structions. Now, of this transaction the Government had no account, and he did not believe it to have occurred. The pre sent Bill was intended to supply the defects in the original Bill, and he could not join in the censure which had been cast on the Noble Lord ( Lord Stanley) opposite, as to the Bill of 1834. Whatever blame attached to the Noble Lord, if any, must attach tenfold to Lord Brougham, who then held the first legal office in the country, and whose duty it was to ad vise his Colleagues as to the powers of the Act.—(Cheers.) He regretted that the Local Legislature had not justified the confidence which Parliament and the passing of that Bill placed in them. They admitted the misconduct of the Jamaica As sembly—admitted it to the fullest extent, and had passed a re medy sufficient to meet the case, but not to go beyond it, be cause they held themselves bound on the other hand, by their solemn contract witn the planters, and on the other, by what they considered the real interests of the negroes. They asked Parliament now for powers which would enable them to protect the negro in the fullest extent of those rights which Parliament had ordained he should enjoy. An Hon. Member had said the' Bill proposed was deficient in penalties. Had the Hon. Member read the Bill? The Bill provided that for any infraction of the law—any injury done to the apprentice—the person offend ing was to pay to the proprietor the full value of the remainder of that apprentice's term.—( Hear, hear.) There was this difference, to be sure, that while under the old law the case was to he tried by a colonial jury, the present Bill vested a summary jurisdiction in the magistrate, who had power to fine the offender to the full value of the apprentice's unexpired term. He begged to apologise to the House for these weari some details, but there were a few more authorities to which he must refer to show the impolicy as well as bad faith of any breach of contract. The first was the report of the appren ticeship Committee of 1836. The report bore testimony to the general good conduct of the apprentices, but at the same time expressed the deep conviction of the Committee that nothing could be more unfortunate than the agitation of any question tending to unsettle the minds of the negroes—( Hear, hear)—and recommended the inviolate preservation of that solemn engagement by which the services of the labourer were secured for a definite period. Now this report was unanimous —( Hear)—but it was only justice to Mr. Buxton to say that he never altered in his opposition to the apprenticeship system, but he decidedly concurred in the opinion of the Committee that nothing could be more unfortunate than to unsettle the public mind. The opinion of Mr. Buxton was to be found in a letter of his, addressed to a meeting of delegates held towards the close of last year in Exeter Hall. But this was one of those meetings that deprecated all inquiry : they wished their own statements to go forth, and refused any other a hearing, and consequently they hesitated for a long time before they would permit Mr. Buxton's letter to be read. In that letter Mr. Buxton expressed his unalloyed hos tility to the apprenticeship system, but also said that he doubted the propriety of making any effort for abolition in 1838. He said they could not expect that Parliament would dispose of so grave a question without a Committee, before which fair play would require that the slaveholders should be examined; that would take a long time, and bring the matter into 1839 ; and even if ultimately they succeeded in their object, the result would not reach the Mauritius before the time already fixed for the abolition._( Hear, hear.) In the sentiments of that letter he concurred so far as it deprecated further agitation of the question. He was told that Mr. Bux ton had since changed his opinion, and given in his adhesion to the abolitionists; but here was his recorded opinion in 1837 against the agitation of the question. He ( Sir G. Grey) did not think the House would give way on this question : it was one involving the preservation of the national faith—( Hear)— and notwithstanding the means that be knew had been used to coerce the votes of Hon. Members, he trusted they would come to the discussion unpledged. —( Cheers.) They would not be acting like the members of a deliberative assembly did they vote for the resolution of the Honourable Baronet under the influence of exparte statements. He ( Sir G. Grey) had pre sented petitions that day from the borough he had the honour to represent, and he could say that his constituents had made no efforts to coerce him, and he should be ashamed of himself if he consented to vote in a particular way on any question be fore be heard the debate ; he would not consent, under any circumstances, to throw off all responsibility, and become the mere mouthpiece of his constituents.—( Cheers.) He had another authority, and that was the Marquis of Sligo, a man possessed of large property in the West Indies, and his opi nion was contained in a pamphlet well known to have been written by his Lordship—written avowedly for the purpose of pointing out the defects of the Jamaica law and the means of remedying them. His remedy was not to repeal the law, but to make the planters obey it. Now they had already adopted the remedy of Lord Sligo. His Lordship further proceeded to doubt whether immediate abolition would be beneficial to the negroes themselves.—( Hear.) He said that although it had worked well in Antigua, in Jamaica the case was differetit. In that island there were thousands of acres of waste land and as it had been proved before the Committee that a man could by twelve days' labour procure food for a year, that he needed no clothes but such as decency required, it was highly probable that the emancipated negro would retire to those jungles, and only come nut from them to procure aome luxury. Under such eireurastancee much labour was not to be expected. He did not read th is opi nion as entirely agreeing with his Lordship. as in his opinion he took rather too unfavourable a view of the negro cha racter. The important consideration for the House was, whether immediate emancipation would be good for the ne groes generally. He admitted that if it could be distinctly proved that the well-being of the negroes required immediate abolition it would be the duty of the House to find some mode of emancipation consistent with justice to the planter —( Hear, hear)—but he was convinced that that was not the case—convinced that the resolution of the Honourable Baronet would tend in the great majority of instances to aggravate the sufferings of the negroes, and roll back the tide of amelioration. He would suggest to the Honourable Ba ronet that under the emancipation law the negro was secured a hut and provision ground, and he would warn him that the persons who would be injured by his resolution, and who were accused of exercising their power tyrannically, had a power of expelling that negro from his hut if, in the excitement which the arrival of those resolutions must cause, he should think right to do so. The delegates had thrown it out that there might be great danger in disappointing the hopes of the negroes after their having been raised in such a manner, but he thought there was more danger in conceding than in adhering to the contract ; and however great might be the excitement, he had no fears of being able to bring the matter to a peaceful termination. He appealed from the heated and prejudiced voice of public meetings to the calm delibe ration and judgment of that House ; and asked them to inter pose the weight of their authority, and, by a large majority, to negative the resolutions of the Honourable Baronet. He trusted that the interests of the negroes could be con sulted in a more satisfactory manner than by imme diate abolition, and that in many places their abolition ould be procured long before the period required by la w —in Montserrat, for instance, where the local Legislature had provided a remedy for the aged and infirm poor. He called upon the House to avoid the consequences of leaving' this question in suspense ; he called upon them to rescue the apprentices and the planters from the adoption of these reso lutions of the Hon. Baronet, wlich he felt would be produc tive of great evil ; but, above all, he called on Parliament to reject the motion, because he believed it would be an act of injustice.—( Hear.) He called on them to fulfil their con tract, and they would thus in a short time place the apprentice in a better situation than that which he had held for the last three years.--( Hear.) Many persons had consulted him upon the subject of emancipating their slaves, and he was happY te, say that the greater number of these persons had expressee themselves desirous of carrying into effect from time to tim e the complete manumission of the negroes on their estates, an d had given orders to their agents to that effect, being a nxious that the emancipation should go on gradually, commencing with those whose conduct would appear the best to entitle them' to it.—( Hear.) The practice had already commenced, and 11 ' earnestly hoped it would go on, even more extensively than it had hitherto done.—(Ctieers. ) He hoped the wealthy Pr% prietors in this country would exercise their influence On t h e local leg islatures to induce an annihilation of all the exis tin g laws. He admitted that there was a strong feeling in country, but he did not think concession should be me.de popular feeling which could not be made with safety or wi t " honour. He was sorry to have trespassed at such length nr, ll the House, but he would call upon them deliberately to wcig a and consider before they consented to a resolution which tvaL l inconsistent with the natural faith, and might be pregnant w it " evil.—( Loud cheers.) He would conclude by moving a' ag f amendment the Order of the Day for the second reading ° the Slavery Abolition Act. The question being put, and no Hon. Member risinf", to speak, there were lou cries of " Divide," and " Aclifinrn' and it was for some time doubtful whi c h course would h e pursued. At length, on the motion of Mr. JAMES, the question wa s adjourned until to-morrow (this day.) The other Notices and Orders were then disposed of, an d the House adjourned, at a Quarter-pait Twelve. HOUSE OF : LORDS, IlLincur 29. The LORD CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack a t five minutes after Fire o'Clock. NEGRO EMANCIPATION. The Bishop of EXETER said that he had a great Mal ° petitions to present for the abolition of Negro Slavery, and ti l l ( ' immediate emancipation of negro apprenti c e s . As he shrin e not take part in the discussion on this subject when it can' before the House, he should now crave permissions, for i n' very few minutes, to state his r easons why he. entirely' acquiesced in the prayers of the p e titi ons . H e wa s one of th e w who did not think the negro es wou ld prove th y fit the great boon of justic e thi s country was s.bout to confer o them. But from all he h a d h ear d, and. all he had read, he was now entirely brought to the opinion that the negroes wer e ° fit to enjoy that justice.—( Hear, hear.) When the Ho n % was once brought to that opinion the whole question ;s:, csnceded. The Noble Secretary for the Colonies c u s. admitted that they were fit; and the very principle ; the Act of 1833 decided they were to be set free ; cause—what was in the very front o f the Act? I t was ,hat certain persons were held in slavery, and that it was j uss, those persons should be set free. If it were just tlest theyo should be set free, why was any delay permitted , to to se place in the execution of that act of justice ? Sirr, p l y bCCatiS it was apprehended that the subjects were not fit,, at that t ime, i to receive their freedom ; and that, instead of ssonferring a h °° upon them, at that time, by granting their Lordship' would be inflicting a curse upon them, For one, he nic 4 frankly say, that it appeared to him to be a strong argumen t , in favour of the planters in their treatme n t o f t h e negroes , tl' 2 " their negroes were fit to receive their freedom at so early a period. From the grinding tyranny and the cruel domest ic ' treatment which the country had been accustomed to contend' plate them the subjects of, it was scarcely in human nature tv conceive it possible that within a period of six years stic i l persons should be fit to receive their liberty ; yet it was foe llu on all hands that they were--and he therefore returned to f the e. principle that being fit, it was just that they should be set r u e . , The Bill professed in its preamble, not only that they sh97 l be set free, but that for a certain period they should be retain in a mitigated condition of slavery, called apprenticeship,i what was the ground of that? It was because it ted to that within that period, those persons would be habitea con industry—and would in short be taught how t° duct themselves as free men. There was another ,t' su i ss l ciple, which was, that a reasonable compensationrhco be given to the planters, and to that compact 11 i so ters that the Legislature on the one hand, and the P nOC was belle" on the other, were bound. But the Negroes O w ero . °ol d parties to that compact ; and if it were just that they °nw, be manipulated, there was no eart hl y re ason why f tout should be continued to b e h e ld i n b on d age , because a rev compact to which th e y h a d b een no part i es . " sonable compensation had not been made to the l e ) osa . ters, let them apply for some additional CO tion. If they had a just ground for any additionalto it pensation, the country would not surely object C laser by but the Negroes were th e l as t p ersons t o paY, ." their sinews or their blood, any part of that compensation' reser Negroes had a right to consider what claim they rnig bt P y ba d in consideration o f th e l ong ser i es o f years o f s lavery t s r ti e si c t undergone. He (th e Ri g ht R ev . P re l a te) d er think that their Lordships would be bound to c o bo s ad that claim ; but, at all events, they wer e vihic b , as soon as possible to g i ve th e negroes t h a t liberty ido rea their Lordships had declared them entitled to. He c°llg t his 0r that statute to be the proudest monument of j u stice any other country ever reare d f or th e a d m i ra ti o n of c oul d and he trusted that they would neve r t arn i s h it. He piper consider that those who cont r ib u t e d a t all to ": jur that most distinguish e d an d un p rece d en ted. act °` j o ts) tice which they were now call e d upon to earr.Y . ,, e , , execution, could neither be the friends of justice t hen mankind.—( Hear, hear.) The Right Rev. Pre s i s at d e dlese s presented petitions f ro m th e M et h o di sts o f n il rshiP' Chapel, Hackney-road • various pla ces o f religiou Nellsfao in Bradford; E cc l es fi e ld ; Sutton, i n C raven ; the ge' Chapel of Shipley ; the Wesleyan Chapel of Thornton ; 05 a t thodist meeting at Paddington ; the Wesleyan m eet ato et Hackney, a petition signed by 3,175 female inhabits a i a te Bradford, and several other places, praying for the irn m ' e abolition of negro apprenticeship. s st" Lord BROUGHAM p resen t e d a pet i t i on f r om Ab e L rj o ra wyth, agreed to at a public meeting, and signed by tbe Mayor, Town - Clerk, and many others, praying °Sobl6l, immediate abolition of negro a pp ren ti ces hip. r f un de l , and Learned Lord stated th a t h e was so r r y to "" ha d s% . " 3 the necessity of presenting all th e p e ti t i o ns he he "",,a him to-day instead of y e st er d a y. Y e sterday t ie r ,, presented 134, and ha had a b s t a i ne d f ro m pre Rob' others, on the ground that with th e exce ption of o ea th"; Lord of the Opposition, and an o the r Noble Lit° cr gajestY cross benches, there was n e ith er one of her troac e. Ministers, nor any oth M er Noble Lord, in th II ()Wei The Noble Viscount (elbourne) said that he h ad n tion to come down yesterday, b u t th e Noble V' s f cu lO ble staid away, with all his colleagues. Whereas, the Wu° Duke ( Wellington) said that he objected to t hu t i s eref e u r ; sitting yesterday, and he (Lord B.) hat\ nO s , t ob ie r expected to see him on that occasion ; r s nd that ( I ' a had, with his usual consistency, staid away• — `‘ es de le b t s i hear.) Therefore he (Lord B.) would not ha ve i f ho duty to the important cause which, he had undertalsentlio a tten t i presented these petitions yesterday with such a ,T t oble ar dance of their Lordships.—( Hear, hear.) Learned Lord then pres en t e d p e titions for the r' of Negro Apprenticeship from places in Norfolk, C ar rsurl3°' and drkosthh Y er orkshire, u e n v o t i n e s s h ; i re fr, from o o r s s e w t e s h s t i r r y e : D L e i b c j o g ] Dublin, Dumbarton, Liverpool, Manchester, Grantn Clot' r derland, Boston, Paisley, Hastings, norton, Fenny Stratford, Woolstr-s, Torquay , •,0 t e a op (we t,ea re county of Lincoln, the birth place of the Noble aa' 0 Co Lord rem ar k e d, o f Si r I saac Newton ; f ro m plse`Jst`o a t "' wall and from Southwark—a petition agre' 4d ers° ns i public meeting and signed by three lion s ired e r o bjee The Noble Lord then presented. petitions on she so n r from Huddersfield, Sandbank, Paisley, Cn ielleste l ' els l] °' Glasgow, Skellingthsrpe, Swaffham, Whiteha vs,ebnhorcugs' Melbourne, Di ss , Al moo db ur y, Dokeith, LOUs. p att ers ss Southampton, Selby, Liverpool, Kilmarnock,- St• Dretn er , e ,', Kingston-on-Thames, Buekingham, Calverley Gravesend, Abbots Bromley, 'lstarreweh -, Aberdeen, by 3,800 persons; Isl e o f Ely, Cheltennu ven e wo e!! mond, Wellington, Newbigging, WarringtonP., altial , 11 0 Widdlescombe, Broomsgrove, Winchilsea, Ca ) rnorden, Dorrington, Stafford Pottery, High and Low , 0 _ hd,a t i o ' ke T ot: Donnington, Knottingley, Kidderminsssa, Trent, Haverfordwest, Devonport enti Cranbrouk, Stratford-on- Avon, P: h East 0 01 , :‘, nerWi C termuchty, Hollingwood, ?sorrowdale, Inn"Y or ° Snaith , o th' upon-Tweed, Richmond., Battle, and a great nted r , places. The Noble Lord said ho had now P e than 200 petitions, in, addition to d not 0 ' t'd There which „dor el ay. ss ss r e still a great number must tries ' able to sels and the presentation of which tau 120 which he-prle.:sentecY,ceti